Heroes
by FantasyFan88
Summary: Four races are at war with each other, but one event will bring them together with one common goal; to destroy an evil so great, it threatens the existence of everyone, regardless of their race.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own anything associated with Christopher Paolini or the Eragon Series_

Ch. 1: And So It Begins…

"We need to fall back!" Faeldhor, one of the top officers, yelled at me as fire bolts raced past him.

"No! Hold your positions! Do not let these heathens get through!" I shouted as I was casting a protective barrier around my squad.

My name is Kristin, and I am the elven princess of The Divine Forest. My father, Belegaru, and mother, Mirinu, are the king and queen of this forest. Our forest is usually of a peaceful nature. We do not indulge ourselves in the matters of the other races. We live as one with Mother Nature, nurturing it any way that we can. We have a personal connection with every living creature of the forest.

On this day however, a great evil is upon us. I am not sure how much longer my people will be able to hold it off. It is not known where this great evil comes from, but we do know that they are of a dark nature. All you see of them are their dark cloaks. They ride upon these beasts that could not have been created by our dear Mother Nature. These creatures are covered in dark black feathers, and are hunchback when they are on the ground. They have razor-sharp talons that could rip cleanly through the trunk of a tree, and their breath is foul; so foul that one whiff of it could knock even the strongest of men unconscious.

"Give up now elves! Or face your ultimate doom!" said one of the cloaked men riding on one of the grotesque creatures.

"Never! Why do you come here and harass my people?" I shouted towards the man.

"You silly elf, do you not know who I am?" An orb of light began to form around his left hand.

"No, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough!"

"Well, until then, feast your eyes on this!" The man stretched his arm out towards me, releasing a blast of light.

"My lady, No!" Faeldhor screamed as he jumped in front of me.

Before I could say anything, the blast hit Faeldhor, sending him to the ground. With whatever energy he had left, he looked up at me, whincing. He said:

"My lady, RUN!"

Hesitating at first, I mounted my horse and began to run. I kept pushing my horse to run faster and faster. After running for a minute or two I stopped and looked behind me. With no sign of a pursuer, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"There you are!"

Above me, I could smell a foul odor. Somehow, the dark cloaked man and his abomination of a mount found me.

"Did you really think I'd let you run from me that easily?" He said with an evil laugh.

"What do you want? Please leave and spare my people!" I said, almost pleading with him.

"You silly elf, you really do not know who I am or what I am a part of do you? Well, let me enlighten you. I am Fredrick, one of the top officers of the Black Prenumbra Order! And I am here to wipe you and your pathetic race from the face of the earth!"

At that moment, another flash of light appeared, but it wasn't from Fredrick, but from one of my loyal soldiers.

"My lady, I can hold him off! Run while you still can!"

"You fool! How dare you challenge one of the best officers of the Black Prenumbra Order! You will surely regret this!"

At that moment, a flaming inferno surrounded the soldier who was trying to hold off Fredrick. Thankfully, I mustered up the energy to cast a protective barrier around him before the inferno completely consumed him. Feeling my energy draining from me every moment that went by, I told the soldier to walk towards me. The barrier was able to keep the flames from touching his delicate elven skin.

"You fool!" I said as I looked up at him, gasping for air. "Do you not realize how strong this one man is? There is no way you can take him by yourself. Go now! Gather up any and every soldier you can find and meet me twenty clicks north of here. I have a plan."

"Yes my lady!"

The young soldier mounted his horse and took off, shouting to every soldier he found to follow him.

After catching my breath, I hurled myself onto my steed and began moving north. When Fredrick realized I where I was heading, he followed me with renewed haste.

"Silly elf, you are really starting to annoy me! You can't run from me forever!"

As I kept running, I heard more hoof steps around me. It sounded like I was surrounded by the whole elven army. Finally, the young soldier returned to me, awaiting orders.

"My lady, I have gathered all the elves I could muster in just a short time. What are your orders?"

"Tell everyone to follow me north. I have noticed that these heathens will not go anywhere near water. If we can get him close enough to the waterfall north of here, we can use magic to direct the water towards him. Maybe it will draw them away from here at least for a little while. I don't know how many more casualties we can take before we are overwhelmed."

"Yes my lady!"

At that moment the whole elven army shrieked a battle cry that could be heard for miles. As a unit, we headed north, with the Fredrick hot on our heels. Finally we reached the waterfall. If under different circumstances, the waterfall would have added to the already apparent beauty of the forest.

Turning around, I faced the elven army, whom looked eager for their next order.

"You men have fought bravely today, and I promise you it will not be in vain. Right now, I need you to give me everything you've got. When the enemy approaches, he will be flying in the air on a hideous creature. When I give the order, use your magic to divert the water at the enemy. Do not let him run away! These heathens will not torture our people any longer!"

With a new sense of pride, the elven army cheered. As expected, Fredrick appeared shortly after we arrived at the waterfall. An evil laugh began to emerge from the depths of his gullet.

"Well, looks like I have you dumb elves finally cornered. You know I'm tired of chasing you around like a cat does a mouse. I think it is time for you to meet your makers! I will always be remembered as Fredrick, the obliterator of the entire elven army!"

I shouted "Not today Fredrick! I think it will be YOU who will meet their maker! Soldiers…NOW!"

At that moment, I took off running towards Fredrick. As I ran under him, he turned around to come after me. As the elves began to chant their water magic spells, I heard Fredrick scream so loud it could have awoken the dead. Suddenly, one of my soldiers shouted:

"My Lady, look out!"

Reflexively, I mentally casted a magical barrier around me. Before I knew it, I was falling off of my steed. I fell to the ground with a huge thud. All I could hear were my soldiers approaching me.

"My Lady, are you alright?" each soldier chanted.

Everything began to fall into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own anything pertaining to Christopher Paolini or the Inheritance Cycle series_

Ch. 2-Old Friends

"Okay class that is enough for today. Be sure to practice your light magic spells. Be ready to have a quiz on Monday."

Professor Albert stood behind an oak desk that was covered in parchment and scrolls. He gazed out to his class with a feeling of accomplishment; maybe these students will have a chance of being great sorcerers after all.

"Professor Albert?" said a young boy carrying his collection of sorcery books.

"What is it my boy?"

"Professor Albert, I was wondering if I could talk to you outside of class. I am really having trouble with one of my light magic spells, and I wanted to see if you could help me? The last thing I want to do is embarrass myself in front of the others when we have our next exam."

"Certainly." Said Professor Albert. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll meet you in my office. Be sure to bring your light magic book."

"Thank you Professor Albert! You're the best!" said the boy as he skipped out of the classroom with enthusiasm.

"My, you sure have a way with the younger ones." Said a familiar voice from the hallway. A tall, muscular man with brown hair and blue eyes walked into the classroom. He was wearing brown pants and a white undershirt with a leather vest. He also had a sword tied at his waist.

"Eric, what are you doing here?" said Albert with an element of surprise in his voice. The two friends hugged and greeted each other.

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood and just thought I'd stop by and see an old friend. How are you doing Albert? I haven't seen you in awhile?"

"I'm doing great." Said Albert. "I'm really glad I took the position of being a tutor to the less fortunate students here at the academy. I really feel that I'm helping them become the best sorcerers possible."

"That's great. You've always been one to put yourself before others, which is a quality I've admired about you since we were kids."

Just then a knock was heard at the door. It was the boy who asked for Albert's help.

"Professor Albert, are you coming? I can't stay too much longer or else mum will have a cow for me staying out late."

"Sure thing my boy. I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Albert gathered up his teaching materials and began to head for the door.

Eric laughed, "Hey Albert, I'll come by your house later tonight. I have some news I want to share with you. Will you be home before sundown?"

"Sure thing Eric. I'll be there."

Albert is a professor at the Crimson City Academy of Sorcery. As a young boy, he was a student there. He was always at the top of his class, but this was not the quality that stood him out among his fellow students and professors. Albert always had the tendency to help others before he helped himself. If he knew a student was struggling with something, he would go out of his way and help them. Albert graduated with Honors from the academy, but the faculty felt that he would best serve as a mentor to future sorcerers. The academy hired Albert and put him in charge of tutoring students who were not performing up-to-par with the others. Ever since Albert took the position, the Crimson City Academy of Sorcery has seen an increase in the number of students who graduate proficient in sorcery.

Albert and Eric have been friends since they were little boys. They both grew up in the poorest village of Crimson City, and they were destined to eventually serve in the Crimson City Royal Army when they came of age. However, this destiny did not prove to be true for Albert. Because of his incredible intellect, Albert earned himself a spot in the sorcery academy, which was a rare feat because only students of nobility could afford to attend there. Eric, however, was not quite as book-smart as Albert, so when he came of age, he had no choice but to enlist into the Crimson City Royal Guard.

_That night before sundown_

As Albert was sitting at his desk writing out his lesson plans for the next day, he heard a knock at the door.

_Knock knock_

Albert shouted "Hold on, I'm coming." When he opened the door, Eric was standing there with a huge grin on his face.

"Ah, Albert, so nice to see you again. May I come in?"

"Sure thing. Come on in." Albert said as he opened the door to let his best friend in.

"Have a seat. Would you like anything to eat or drink?"

"I could take some good ol' mead if you have any. It's been kind of an eventful day."

"I bet. Give me a minute and I'll pour us both a glass." Albert left to the kitchen as Eric sat down in a chair near Albert's desk.

"Here you go Eric."

"Thanks Albert." Eric took a huge swig of the warm mead, which was comforting.

"So Eric, you told me earlier that you had some news to tell me. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's great. Couldn't be better. I finally think my life is turning around Albert, and I wanted you to be the first to know. General Birgador came and personally saw me today while I was out training with my squad. Do you have any idea how rare of an occurrence that is? That is almost unheard of! Albert I've been promoted to Captain! I get to be the head of a squad! I get to give orders for a change!"

Awe-struck, Albert said "Wow Eric, that's wonderful! I think this deserves a celebration. Give me your glass; we're going to go to the finest tavern in town. I'm going to buy you the finest meal and mead this town has to offer!"

The walk from Albert's house to the Wolf Paw Inn wasn't a long one, but there were many sites to see. Along the road there were different kinds of merchants yelling slogans to try and get customers to come and look at their stands, there were little children running and playing, some were chasing dogs, and you could hear the clank of metal-to-metal from the local blacksmithing shops. The smell of freshly baked bread lingered because the bakers had a tendency to set-up their shops near Albert's house.

"Man, looking in the city you'd never know that just beyond these walls we are fighting to keep the Orcs off of our land" said Eric.

"I know. Kind of sad I think. How is all of that going by the way? If you don't mind me asking?"

Eric turned to Albert "I'm not sure. The higher-ups don't give us much feedback, but I do know that we do not see the orcs letting up anytime soon. I don't know Albert I just wish the Orcs weren't so barbaric. We would love more than anything to share the land with them, heck even trade some goods with them from time-to-time, but they think that they have to have everything, and they won't stop attacking us until we stop trying to expand."

"Well, just keep yourself safe out there. Lord knows I'd have a few orcs on my blacklist if anything happened to you."

Eric laughed "Yeah…you..with a blacklist…that's funny Albert. I don't think you'd hurt a fly!"

Albert smiled "You'd be surprised what I've learned from the academy."

Finally, Albert and Eric made it to the entrance of the Wolf Paw Inn. Opening the door, music from a piano played by a local man named Old Jimmy could be heard. Old Jimmy used to be an entertainer for the Royal Family, but was let go because of his age. The atmosphere was of a joyous nature. Men would talk about their women (or lack there-of), or just about the events of the day. Albert and Eric made their way to the bar, where Hagard, a tall, bulky, but gentle man stood. He was the owner of the Inn.

"Ah Albert, so nice to see you. What can I get you boys?"

Albert pulled two silver coins from his pouch and set them on the bar table.

" Hagard, I want you to whip up the best meal and mead money can buy. We are celebrating today." Albert patted Eric on the back. "My best friend has been promoted to Captain of the Royal Army today."

"That's great news! It's about time a local gets some authority around here! You boys go find you a table. I'll bring out your meal when it is ready."

Albert and Eric sat at a table that sat in the middle of the tavern. As they sat down, Albert noticed the table adjacent to them. He could tell the men were not locals. They were all wearing fur clothing with black leather boots. Albert guessed they were part of a fishing company from the north, where it was always cold. As Albert and Eric began talking, Albert listened in on the conversation going on at the other table:

"Have you guys heard what's going on in the Divine Forest?" This was said by the bulkiest man of the three. He could barely fit in his chair.

"Yeah, something about the elves are fighting off some sort of dark cult or something."

Two words caught Albert's attention: dark cult.

The younger one of the group spoke up "Oh come on, don't tell me you guys believe in all of that elven voodoo junk? They are probably freaking themselves out because of all the magical things they do."

"It is believed that the local sorcery academy has had some bad apples from time to time. When someone is kicked out of the sorcery academy, they usually go crazy and join some sort of secret cult and practice forbidden magic! It has been heard that this cult is going to try and take over all of SilverCry. I personally think it's a hoax" said the leader as he took a swig of his mead.

As Albert realized what they merchants were talking about, he quickly got up from his seat and started heading for the door.

Eric shouted "Albert where are you going? Our meal hasn't come out yet!"

"Sorry buddy. Something's come up. I'll catch you later."

Albert left the tavern, and Eric was stuck drinking two flasks of mead and eating two hearty meals by himself.


End file.
